Systems and methods for enabling a mobile user to notify an automated monitoring system of an emergency situation

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for enabling a mobile user to notify an automated monitoring system of an emergency situation are provided. The automated monitoring system may be configured for monitoring and controlling a plurality of remote devices and may comprise a site controller in communication with the plurality of remote devices via a plurality of transceivers defining a wireless communication network and in communication with a host computer via a wide area network. Briefly described, one such method comprises the steps of: receiving notification that the mobile user desires to initiate transmission of an emergency message to the site controller; determining the identity of the mobile user; and providing an emergency message over the wireless communication network for delivery to the site controller, the emergency message indicating the identity of the mobile user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/704,150, filed Nov. 1, 2000, and entitled“System and Method for Monitoring and Controlling Residential Devices;”U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/271,517, filed Mar. 18, 1999, andentitled “System For Monitoring Conditions in a Residential LivingCommunity;” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/439,059, filed Nov.12, 1999, and entitled “System and Method for Monitoring and ControllingRemote Devices.” Each of the identified U.S. patent applications ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application alsoclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/224,047,filed Aug. 9, 2000, and entitled “Design Specifications for a PersonalSecurity Device (FOB),” which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention generally relates to remotely operatedsystems, and more particularly to a computerized system for monitoringand reporting on remote systems by transferring information via radiofrequency (RF) signals via a message protocol system.

BACKGROUND

[0003] There are a variety of systems for monitoring and/or controllingany of a number of systems and/or processes, such as, for example,manufacturing processes, inventory systems, emergency control systems,personal security systems, residential systems, and electric utilitymeters to name a few. In many of these “automated monitoring systems,” ahost computer in communication with a communication network, such as awide area network, monitors and/or controls a plurality of remotedevices arranged within a geographical region. The plurality of remotedevices typically use remote sensors and actuators to monitor andautomatically respond to various system parameters to reach desiredresults. A number of automated monitoring systems utilize computers toprocess sensor outputs, to model system responses, and to controlactuators that implement process corrections within the system.

[0004] For example, both the electric power generation and metallurgicalprocessing industries successfully control production processes byimplementing computer control systems in individual plants. Homesecurity has been greatly increased due to automated monitoring devices.Many environmental and safety systems require real-time monitoring.Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems (HVAC), firereporting and suppression systems, alarm systems, and access controlsystems utilize real-time monitoring and often require immediatefeedback and control.

[0005] A problem with expanding the use of automated monitoring systemsis the cost of the sensor/actuator infrastructure required to monitorand control such systems. The typical approach to implementing automatedmonitoring system technology includes installing a local network ofhard-wired sensor(s)/actuator(s) and a site controller. There areexpenses associated with developing and installing the appropriatesensor(s)/actuator(s) and connecting functional sensor(s)/actuator(s)with the site controller. Another prohibitive cost of control systems isthe installation and operational expenses associated with the sitecontroller.

[0006] Another problem with using automated monitoring system technologyis the geographic size of automated monitoring systems. In a hard-wiredautomated monitoring system, the geographic size of the system mayrequire large amounts of wiring. In a wireless automated monitoringsystem, the geographic size of the automated monitoring system mayrequire wireless transmissions at unacceptable power levels.

[0007] Another problem is that communications within the automatedmonitoring system can only be initiated by the host computer, some othercomputing device connected to the host computer via a wide area network,or one of the remote devices being monitored. Individuals associatedwith the remote devices and/or personnel associated with the automatedmonitoring system have no additional means of communicating variousconditions within the automated monitoring system. For example, insituations where the automated monitoring system is susceptible toemergency situations and/or unforeseen events, it may be beneficial toenable users and other personnel the ability to flexibly initiatecommunications without having to access the host computer.

[0008] Accordingly, there is a need for automated monitoring systemsthat overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides systems and methods for enabling amobile user to notify an automated monitoring system of an emergencysituation. In general, the automated monitoring system may be configuredfor monitoring and controlling a plurality of remote devices and maycomprise a site controller in communication with the plurality of remotedevices via a plurality of transceivers defining a wirelesscommunication network. The remote devices may be controlled via a hostcomputer in communication with the site controller via a communicationnetwork, such as a wide area network.

[0010] The present invention may be viewed as providing a mobilecommunication device adapted for use with an automated monitoringsystem. The automated monitoring system may be configured for monitoringand controlling a plurality of remote devices and may comprise a sitecontroller in communication with the plurality of remote devices via aplurality of transceivers defining a wireless communication network andin communication with a host computer via a wide area network. Brieflydescribed, one of many possible embodiments of the mobile communicationdevice comprises: memory, logic, and a wireless transmitter. Memory maycomprise a unique identifier associated with the mobile communicationdevice. The logic may be responsive to a transmit command and may beconfigured to retrieve the unique identifier from memory and generate atransmit message using a predefined communication protocol beingimplemented by the wireless communication network. The transmit messagegenerated by the logic may comprise the unique identifier and may beconfigured such that the transmit message may be received by the sitecontroller via the wireless communication network and such that the sitecontroller may identify the mobile identification device and notify thehost computer of the transmit message. The wireless transmitter may beconfigured for communication over the wireless communication network andconfigured to provide the transmit signal to the wireless communicationnetwork.

[0011] The present invention may also be viewed as providing a methodfor enabling a mobile user to notify an automated monitoring system ofan emergency situation. Briefly described, one such method involves thesteps of: receiving notification that the mobile user desires toinitiate transmission of an emergency message to the site controller;determining the identity of the mobile user; and providing an emergencymessage over the wireless communication network for delivery to the sitecontroller, the emergency message indicating the identity of the mobileuser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part ofthe specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention,and together with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one of a number of a numberof possible embodiments of an automated monitoring system according tothe present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one of a number of possibleembodiment of the transceiver in FIG. 1 in communication with the sensorof FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a high level diagram of one embodiment of a personnelcommunication device according to the present invention that may be usedto communicate with the site controller of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the architecture of the personnelcommunications device of FIG. 3;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one of a number of possibleembodiments of the site controller of FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the message structure of acommunication protocol that may be implemented by the automatedmonitoring system of FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a table illustrating several exemplary values for the“to” address in the message structure of FIG. 6;

[0020]FIG. 8 illustrates three sample messages using the messageprotocol of the present invention; and

[0021]FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the automated monitoringsystem according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] Having summarized the invention above, reference is now made indetail to the description of the invention as illustrated in hedrawings. While the invention will be described in connection with thesedrawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment orembodiments disclosed therein. On the contrary, the intent is to coverall alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0023] Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagramillustrating an automated monitoring system 100 according to the presentinvention. The automated monitoring system 100 may comprise one or moreapplications servers 110 (one being shown for simplicity ofillustration), one or more database servers 115, a WAN 120, one or morerepeaters 125, one or more sensor/actuators 130, one or moretransceivers 135, one or more sensors 140, one or more transmitters 145,and at least one site controller 150. As further illustrated in FIG. 1,each of the sensor/actuators 130 and the sensors 140 may be integratedwith a suitably configured RF transceiver/repeater 125, an RFtransceiver 135, or an RF transmitter 145. Hereinafter, the groupincluding an RF transceiver/repeater 125, an RF transceiver 135, and anRF transmitter 145 will be referred to as RF communication devices.

[0024] The RF communication devices are preferably small in size and maybe configured to transmit a relatively low-power RF signal. As a result,in some applications, the transmission range of a given RF communicationdevice may be relatively limited. Of course, the transmitter power andrange may be appropriately designed for the target operatingenvironment. As will be appreciated from the description that follows,this relatively limited transmission range of the RF communicationsdevices is advantageous and a desirable characteristic of the automatedmonitoring system 100. Although the RF communication devices aredepicted without a user interface such as a keypad, etc., in certainembodiments the RF communication devices may be configured with userselectable pushbuttons, switches, or an alphanumeric keypad suitablyconfigured with software and or firmware to accept operator input. TheRF communication device may be electrically interfaced with a sensor 140or with a sensor/actuator 130, such as, for example, a smoke detector, athermostat, a security system, etc., where user selectable inputs maynot be needed. It should be noted that the automated monitoring system100 is being shown in FIG. 1 with a wide variety of components. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that automated monitoringsystem 100 may include fewer or more components depending on designneeds and the particular environment in which automated monitoringsystem is implemented.

[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 1, one or more sensors 140 may communicatewith at least one site controller 150 via an RF transmitter 145, an RFtransceiver 135, or an RF transceiver/repeater 125. Furthermore, one ormore sensors/actuators 130 may be communicatively coupled to at leastone site controller 150 via an RF transceiver 135 or an RFtransceiver/repeater 125. In order to send a command from theapplications server 111 to a sensor/actuator 130, the RF communicationdevice in communication with the sensors/actuators 130 should be atwo-way communication device (i.e., a transceiver). One of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that that one or more sensors/actuators130 may be in direct communication with one or more site controllers150. It will be further appreciated that the communication mediumbetween the one or more sensor/actuators 130 and sensors 140 and the oneor more site controllers 150 may be wireless or, for relatively closelylocated configurations, a wired communication medium may be used.

[0026] Alternatively, the RF transceiver 135 may be replaced by an RFtransmitter 145. This simplifies the device structure, but alsoeliminates the possibility of the site controller 150 communicating withremote devices via the transmitter 145.

[0027] Automated monitoring system 100 may further comprise a pluralityof standalone RF transceivers 125 acting as repeaters. Each repeater125, as well as each RF transceiver 135, may be configured to receiveone or more incoming RF transmissions (transmitted by a remotetransmitter 145 or transceiver 135) and to transmit an outgoing signal.This outgoing signal may be another low-power RF transmission signal, ahigher-power RF transmission signal, or alternatively may be transmittedover a conductive wire, fiber optic cable, or other transmission media.One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, if an integratedRF communication device (e.g., a RF transmitter 145, a RF transceiver135, or a RF transceiver/repeater 125) is located sufficiently close tosite controller 150 such that the RF signals may be received by the sitecontroller 150, the data transmission signal need not be processed andrepeated through either an RF transceiver/repeater 125 or an RFtransceiver 135.

[0028] As illustrated in FIG. 1, one or more site controllers 150 may beconfigured and disposed to receive remote data transmissions from thevarious stand-alone RF transceiver/repeaters 125, integrated RFtransmitters 145, and integrated RF transceivers 135. Site controllers150 may be configured to analyze the transmissions received, convert thetransmissions into TCP/IP format and further communicate the remote datasignal transmissions to one or more applications servers 110 or othercomputing devices connected to WAN 120. The site controller B 150 mayfunction as either a back-up site controller in the event of a sitecontroller failure or may function as a primary site controller toexpand the potential size of the automated monitoring system 100. As aback-up site controller, the site controller B 150 may function when theapplications server 110 detects a site controller failure.Alternatively, the site controller B 150 may function to expand thecapacity of automated monitoring system 100. A single site controller150 may accommodate a predetermined number of remote devices. While thenumber of remote devices may vary based upon individual requirements, inone embodiment, the number may be equal to approximately 500 remotedevices. As stated above, additional site controllers 150 may increasethe capacity of automated monitoring system 100. The number of RFcommunications devices that may be managed by a site controller 150 islimited only by technical constraints, such as memory, storage space,etc In addition, the site controller 150 may manage more addresses thandevices because some RF communications devices may have multiplefunctions, such as sensing, repeating, etc. Since the site controller150 is in communication with WAN 120, applications server 110 may hostapplication specific software. As described in more detail below, thesite controller 150 may communicate information in the form of data andcontrol signals to remote sensor/actuators 130 and remote sensors 140,which are received from applications server 110, laptop computer 155,workstation 160, etc. via WAN 120. The applications server 110 may benetworked with a database 115 to record client specific data or toassist the applications server 110 in deciphering a particular datatransmission from a particular sensor 140 or actuator/sensor 130.

[0029] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each RFcommunication device in automated monitoring system 100 has anassociated antenna pattern (not shown). The RF communications devicesare geographically disposed such that the antenna patterns overlap tocreate a coverage area 165, which defines the effective area ofautomated monitoring system 100.

[0030] As described in further detail below, automated monitoring system100 may also include a mobile personal communication device (FOB) 170,which may transmit an emergency message directly or indirectly to a sitecontroller 150. For example, in certain implementations of automatedmonitoring system 100, such as where the remote devices are electricutility meters or personal security systems, it may be beneficial toenable FOB 170 to transmit an emergency message configured to notify thesite controller 150 of the occurrence of an emergency situation. In thismanner, automated monitoring system 100 may an FOB 170 configured totransmit an electromagnetic signal that may be encoded with anidentifier that is unique to the FOB 170.

[0031] Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a block diagramillustrating one embodiment of the transceiver 135 and sensor 130 ofFIG. 1 in communication with each other. Sensor 130 may be any type ofdevice configured to sense one or more parameters. For example, sensor130 may be a two-state device such as a smoke alarm. Alternatively,sensor 130 may output a continuous range of values, such as the currenttemperature, to transceiver 135. If the signal output from the sensor130 is an analog signal, data interface 205 may include ananalog-to-digital converter (not shown) to convert signals provided tothe transceiver 135. Alternatively, where sensor 130 provides digitalsignals, a digital interface may be provided.

[0032] In FIG. 2, the sensor 130 may be communicatively coupled with theRF transceiver 135. The RF transceiver 135 may comprise a transceivercontroller 210, a data interface 205, a data controller 215, memory 220,and an antenna 225. As shown in FIG. 2, a data signal provided by thesensor 130 may be received at the data interface 205. In situationswhere the data interface 205 has received an analog data signal, thedata interface 205 may be configured to convert the analog signal into adigital signal before forwarding a digital representation of the datasignal to the data controller 215.

[0033] The RF transceiver 135 has a memory 220 that may contain a uniquetransceiver identifier that uniquely identifies the RF transceiver 135.The transceiver identifier may be programmable and implemented in theform of, for example, an EPROM. Alternatively, the transceiveridentifier may be set/configured through a series of dual inline package(DIP) switches. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatthe transceiver identifier and memory 220 may be implemented in avariety of additional ways.

[0034] While the unique transceiver address may be varied in accordancewith the present invention, it preferably may be a six-byte address. Thelength of the address may be varied as necessary given design needs.Using the unique transceiver address, the RF communication devices andthe site controller 150 may determine, by analyzing the data packets,which devices generated and/or repeated the data packet.

[0035] Of course, additional and/or alternative configurations may alsobe provided by a similarly configured transceiver. For example, asimilar configuration may be provided for a transceiver that isintegrated into, for example, a carbon monoxide detector, a doorposition sensor, etc. Alternatively, system parameters that vary acrossa range of values may be transmitted by transceiver 135 as long as datainterface 205 and data controller 215 are configured to apply a specificcode that is consistent with the input from sensor 130. As long as thecode is understood by the applications server 110 (FIG. 1) orworkstation 160 (FIG. 1), the target parameter may be monitored.

[0036]FIG. 3 shows a high level diagram of the interaction of thepersonnel communication device (FOB) 170 and the site controller 150according to the present invention. The FOB 170 communicates directly orindirectly with the site controller 150. While the FOB 170 will bedescribed in more detail below, in general the FOB 170 transmits anelectromagnetic signal to a site controller 150 and/or an RFcommunication device. The electromagnetic signal may be encoded with aunique transceiver identifier associated with the FOB 170. An internalcircuit (not shown) may be provided within the FOB 170 to act uponcommand to transmit the encoded electromagnetic signal 320. A transmitbutton 325 may be provided for the user. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 3, the FOB 170 is quite small and may be conveniently attached,for example, to a key ring 330, clothing (not shown), etc. for ready andportable use. Furthermore, FOB 170 may be integrated with a mobileelectronics device. For instance, FOB 170 may be integrated with ahandheld computer, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless telephone, or any other mobile electronics device.

[0037] Indeed, in another embodiment, the single FOB 170 may servemultiple functions. For example, an FOB 170 may be integrally designedwith another device, such as an automotive remote, to provide the dualfunctionality of remotely controlling an automobile alarm along with thefunctionality of the FOB 170. In accordance with such an embodiment, asecond transmit button 335 may be provided. The first transmit button325 may be operative to, for example, communicate with the sitecontroller 150, while the second transmit button 335 may be operative toremotely operate the automobile alarm. One of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that FOB 170 may be integrated with any of a variety ofalternative devices with one or more transmit buttons 335. Furthermore,it will be appreciated that the frequency and/or format of the transmitsignal 320 transmitted may be different for the different applications.For example, the FOB 170 may transmit a unique identifier to the sitecontroller 150 (FIG. 1), while only a unique activation sequence need betransmitted to actuate an automobile alarm or other device.

[0038] In use, a user may simply depress transmit button 325, whichwould result in the FOB 170 transmitting an electromagnetic signal 320to the site controller 150. Preferably, the FOB 170 is low powertransmitter so that a user may only need to be in close proximity (e.g.,several feet) to site controller 150 or one of the RF communicationdevices of the automated monitoring system 100 (FIG. 1). The FOB 170 maycommunicate either directly with the site controller 150, if in closeproximity, or indirectly via the transceivers and/or repeaters of theautomated monitoring system 100. Low-power operation may help to preventinterception of the electromagnetic signals. In alternative embodiments,FOB 170 may be configured such that the transmitted signal may beencrypted for further protect against interception.

[0039] The site controller 150 receives and decodes the signal 320 viaRF transceiver 340. The site controller 150 then evaluates the received,decoded signal to ensure that the signal identifies a legitimate user.If so, the site controller 150 sends an emergency message to theapplications server 110 (FIG. 1).

[0040] Having now presented an overview of the basic operation of FOB170, reference is made to FIG. 4 which shows a more detailed blockdiagram of the components contained within an embodiment of FOB 170. Aspreviously mentioned, the FOB 170 includes a transmit button 325, whichinitiates the data transmission. FOB 170 may include a memory 405, adata formatter 410, a controller 415, and an RF transmitter 420.Depending upon the desired complexity of the automated monitoring system100 and FOB 170, the RF transmitter 420 may be replaced by an RFtransceiver.

[0041] Controller 415 controls the overall functionality of FOB 170. Thecontroller 415 is responsive to the depression or actuation of transmitbutton 325 to begin the data transaction and signal transfer. When auser depresses the transmit button 325, the controller 415 initiates thedata transmission sequence by accessing the memory 405, which, amongother things, stores the transceiver unique identifier. This informationis then passed to the data formatter 410, which places the data in anappropriate and predefined format for transmission to the sitecontroller 150. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatthe data may be retrieved from memory 405 and translated into thepredefined format as electronic data or in a variety of other ways. Whenelectronic data is used, the data is sent from data formatter 410 to RFtransmitter 420 for conversion from electronic to electromagnetic form.As well known by those skilled in the art, a variety of transducers mayperform this functionality. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that FOB 170 may implement any of a variety of communicationprotocols and data formats for communication with automated monitoringsystem 100. In one embodiment, FOB 170 may implement the communicationprotocol used by automated monitoring system 100, which is described inmore detail below with respect to FIGS. 6-8.

[0042] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that thevarious RF communication devices may be configured with a number ofoptional power supply configurations. For example, the FOB 170 (FIG. 4)may be powered by a replaceable battery. Those skilled in the art willappreciate how to meet the power requirements of the various devices. Asa result, it is not necessary to further describe a power supplysuitable for each device and each application in order to appreciate theconcepts and teachings of the present invention.

[0043] Having illustrated and described the operation of the variouscombinations of RF communication devices with the various sensors 140,reference is now made to FIG. 5, which is a block diagram furtherillustrating one embodiment of a site controller 150. According to thepresent invention, a site controller 150 may comprise an antenna 510, atransceiver controller 515, a central processing unit (CPU) 520, memory525, a network card 530, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem 535, anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) interface card 540, as wellas other components not illustrated in FIG. 5, capable of enabling atransfer control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) connection to WAN120.

[0044] The transceiver controller 515 may be configured to receiveincoming RF signal transmissions via the antenna 510. Each of theincoming RF signal transmissions are consistently formatted as describedbelow. Site controller 150 may be configured such that the memory 525includes a look-up table 545 configured for identifying the variouswireless communication devices (including intermediate wirelesscommunication devices) used in generating and transmitting the receiveddata transmission. As illustrated in FIG. 5, site controller 150 mayinclude an “Identify Remote Transceiver” memory sector 550 and an“Identify Intermediate Transceiver” memory sector 555. Programmed orrecognized codes within the memory 525 may also be provided andconfigured for controlling the operation of a CPU 520 to carry out thevarious functions that are orchestrated and/or controlled by the sitecontroller 150. For example, the memory 525 may include program code forcontrolling the operation of the CPU 520 to evaluate an incoming datapacket to determine what action needs to be taken. In this regard, oneor more look-up tables 545 may also be stored within the memory 525 toassist in this process. Furthermore, the memory 525 may be configuredwith program code configured to identify a remote RF transceiver 550 oridentify an intermediate RF transceiver 555. Function codes, RFtransmitter, and/or RF transceiver identification numbers may all bestored with associated information within the look-up tables 545.

[0045] Thus, one look-up table 545 may be provided to associatetransceiver identificatiers with a particular user. Another look-uptable 545 may be used to associate function codes with theinterpretation thereof For example, a first data packet segment 550 maybe provided to access a first lookup table to determine the identity ofthe RF transceiver (not shown) that transmitted the received message. Asecond code segment may be provided to access a second lookup table todetermine the proximate location of the RF transceiver that generatedthe message by identifying the RF transceiver that relayed the message.A third code segment may be provided to identify the content of themessage transmitted. Namely, is it a fire alarm, a security alarm, anemergency request by a person, a temperature control setting, etc. Inaccordance with the present invention, additional, fewer, or differentcode segments may be provided to carry out different functionaloperations and data signal transfers of the present invention.

[0046] The site controllers 150 may also include one or more networkinterface devices configured for communication with WAN 120. Forexample, the site controller 150 may include a network card 530, whichmay allow the site controller 150 to communicate across a local areanetwork to a network server, which in turn may contain a backup sitecontroller (not shown) to the WAN 120. Alternatively, the sitecontroller 150 may contain a DSL modem 535, which may be configured toprovide a link to a remote computing system via the public switchedtelephone network (PSTN). The site controller 150 may also include anISDN card 540 configured to communicate via an ISDN connection with aremote system. Other communication interfaces may be provided to serveas primary and/or backup links to the WAN 120 or to local area networksthat might serve to permit local monitoring of the operability of sitecontroller 150 and to permit data packet control.

[0047] Automated monitoring system 100 may implement any of a variety oftypes of message protocols to facilitate communication between theremote devices, the RF transceivers, and the site controller 150. FIG. 6sets forth a message structure for implementing a data packet protocolaccording to the present invention. All messages transmitted within theautomated monitoring system 100 may consist of a “to” address 600, a“from” address 610, a packet number 620, a number of packets in atransmission 630, a packet length 640, a message number 650, a commandnumber 660, any data 670, and a check sum error detector (CKH 680 andCKL 690).

[0048] The “to” address 600 indicates the intended recipient of thepacket. This address can be scalable from one to six bytes based uponthe size and complexity of automated monitoring system 100. By way ofexample, the “to” address 600 may indicate a general message to alltransceivers, to only the stand-alone transceivers, or to an individualintegrated transceiver. In a six byte “to” address, the first byte mayindicate the transceiver type—to all transceivers, to some transceivers,or a specific transceiver. The second byte may be the identificationbase, and bytes three through six may be used for the unique transceiveraddress (either stand-alone or integrated). The “to” address 600 may bescalable from one byte to six bytes or larger depending upon theintended recipient(s).

[0049] The “from” address 610 may be a six-byte unique transceiveraddress of the transceiver originating the transmission. The “from”address 610 may be the address of the site controller 150 when thecontroller requests data, or this can be the address of the integratedtransceiver when the integrated transceiver sends a response to arequest for information to the site controller 150.

[0050] The packet number 620, the packet maximum 630, and the packetlength 640 may be used to concatenate messages that are greater than 128bytes. The packet maximum 630 may indicate the number of packets in themessage. The packet number 620 may be used to indicate a packet sequencenumber for multiple-packet messages.

[0051] The message number 650 may be assigned by the site controller150. Messages originating from the site controller 150 may be assignedan even number. Responses to the site controller 150 may have a messagenumber 650 equal to the original message number 650 plus one, therebyrendering the responding message number odd. The site controller 150then increments the message number 650 by two for each new originatingmessage. This enables the site controller 150 to coordinate the incomingresponses to the appropriate command message.

[0052] The next section is the command byte 660 that may be used torequest data from the receiving device as necessary. One of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that, depending on the specificimplementation of automated monitoring system 100, the types of commandsmay differ. In one embodiment, there may be two types of commands:device specific and not device specific. Device specific commandscontrol a specific device such as a data request or a change in currentactuator settings. Commands that are not device specific may include,but are not limited to, a ping, an acknowledge, a non-acknowledgement,downstream repeat, upstream repeat, read status, emergency message, anda request for general data among others. General data may include asoftware version number, the number of power failures, the number ofresets, etc.

[0053] The data section 670 may contain data as requested by a specificcommand. The requested data may be any value. By way of example, testdata may be encoded in ASCII (American Standard Code for InformationInterchange) or other known encoding systems as known in the art. Thedata section 670 of a single packet may be scalable, for example, up to109 bytes. In such instances, when the requested data exceeds 109 bytes,the integrated transceiver may divide the data into an appropriatenumber of sections and concatenate the series of packets for one messageusing the packet identifiers as discussed above.

[0054] Checksum sections 680 and 690 may used to detect errors in thetransmissions of the packets. In one embodiment, errors may be detectedusing cyclic redundancy check sum methodology. This methodology dividesthe message as a large binary number by the generating polynomial (inthis case, CRC-16). The remainder of this division is then sent with themessage as the checksum. The receiver then calculates a checksum usingthe same methodology and compares the two checksums. If the checksums donot match, the packet or message will be ignored. While this errordetection methodology is preferred, one of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that other error detection systems may be employed.

[0055] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that automatedmonitoring system 100 may employ wireless and/or wired communicationtechnologies for communication between site controller 150 and the RFtransceivers. In one embodiment, communication between site controller150 and the RF transceivers may be implemented via an RF link at a basicrate of 4,800 bits per second (bps) and a data rate of 2400 bps. All thedata may be encoded in Manchester format such that a high to lowtransition at the bit center point represents a logic zero and a low tohigh transition represents a logic one. One of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that other RF formats may be used depending upon designneeds. By way of example, a quadature phase shift encoding method mayalso be used, thereby enabling automated monitoring system 100 tocommunicate via hexadecimal instead of binary.

[0056] Messages may further include a preface and a postscript (notshown). The preface and postscripts are not part of the message body butrather serve to synchronize automated monitoring system 100 and to frameeach packet of the message. The packet may begin with the preface andend with a postscript. The preface may be a series of twenty-four logicones followed by two bit times of high voltage with no transition. Thefirst byte of the packet may then follow immediately. The postscript maybe a transition of the transmit data line from a high voltage to a lowvoltage. It may be less desirable to not leave the transmit data linehigh after the message is sent. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the preface and the postscript may bemodified as necessary for design needs.

[0057]FIG. 7 sets forth one embodiment of the “to” address byteassignment. The “to” address may take many forms depending on thespecific requirements of automated monitoring system 100. In oneembodiment, the “to” address may consist of six bytes. The first byte(Byte 1) may indicate the device type. The second byte (Byte 2) mayindicate the manufacturer or the owner. The third byte (Byte 3) may be afurther indication of the manufacturer or owner. The fourth byte (Byte4) may indicate that the message is for all devices or that the messageis for a particular device. If the message is for all devices, thefourth byte may be a particular code. If the message is for a particulardevice, the fourth, fifth, and sixth bytes (Byte 5 and Byte 6) mayinclude the unique identifier for that particular device.

[0058] Having described the general message structure of the presentinvention, reference is directed to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates thegeneral message structure for an emergency message. The messageillustrates the broadcast of an emergency message “FF” from a centralserver with an address “0012345678” to a integrated transceiver with anaddress of “FF.”

[0059] Returning to FIG. 1, the site controller 150 functions as thelocal communications master in automated monitoring system 100. With theexception of emergency messages, the site controller 150 may initiatecommunication with any RF communication device. The RF communicationdevice then responds based upon the command received in the message. Ingeneral, the site controller 150 may expect a response to all messagessent to any of the RF communication devices. By maintaining the sitecontroller 150 as the communications master and storing the collecteddata at the site controller 150, overall system installation, upkeepcosts, and expansion costs may be minimized. By simplifying the RFcommunication devices, the initial cost and maintenance of the RFcommunication devices may be minimized. Further information regardingthe normal mode of communications can be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/812,044, entitled “System and Method forMonitoring and Controlling Remote Devices,” and filed Mar. 19, 2001,which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

[0060] As stated above, automated monitoring system 100 may beconfigured such that other devices, such as FOB 170 and certain RFtransceivers, may initiate emergency messages. To accommodate receivingemergency messages, the site controller 150 may dedicate a predeterminedtime period, for example one-half of every ten-second period, to receiveemergency messages. During these time periods, the site controller 150may not transmit messages other than acknowledgements to any emergencymessages. The integrated transceiver 135 may detect the period ofsilence, and in response, may then transmit the emergency message.

[0061] There are typically two forms of emergency messages: from the FOB170 and from permanently installed safety/security transceiver(s). Inthe first case of the FOB 170, the emergency message may comprise apredetermined “to” address and a random odd number. In response to thisemergency message, the site controller 150 may acknowledge during asilent period. The FOB 170 then repeats the same emergency message. Thesite controller 150 may forward the emergency message to the WAN 120 inthe normal manner.

[0062] Upon receipt of the site controller 150 acknowledgement, the FOB170 may reset itself If no acknowledgement is received within apredetermined time period, the FOB 170 may continue to re-transmit theoriginal emergency message until acknowledged by the site controller 150for a predetermined number of retransmissions.

[0063] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the RFtransceivers of the present invention may be further integrated with avoice-band transceiver. As a result, when a person presses, for example,the emergency button on his/her FOB 170, medical personnel, staffmembers, or others may respond by communicating via two-way radio withthe party in distress. In this regard, each transceiver may be equippedwith a microphone and a speaker that would allow a person tocommunication information such as their present emergency situation,their specific location, etc.

[0064]FIG. 9 sets forth another embodiment of automated monitoringsystem 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 9 illustrates theautomated monitoring system 100 of FIG. 1 with an additional sensor 180and transceiver 185. The additional sensor 180 and transceiver 185 maycommunicate with, but outside of, the coverage area 165 of the automatedmonitoring system 100. In this example, the additionalsensor/transceiver may be placed outside of the original coverage area165. In order to communicate, the coverage area of transceiver 185 needonly overlap the coverage area 165. By way of example only, the originalinstallation may be a system that monitors electricity via the utilitymeters in an apartment complex. Later a neighbor in a single familyresidence nearby the apartment complex may remotely monitor and controltheir thermostat by installing a sensor/actuator transceiver accordingto the present invention. The transceiver 185 then communicates with thesite controller 150 of the apartment complex. If necessary, repeaters(not shown) may also be installed to communicate between the neighboringtransceiver 185 and the apartment complex site controller 150. Withouthaving the cost of the site controller, the neighbor may enjoy thebenefits of automated monitoring control system 100.

[0065] The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the inventions to the precise embodiments disclosed. Obviousmodifications or variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. When the transceiver is permanently integrated into an alarmsensor or other stationary device within a system, then the applicationserver 110 and/or the site controller 150 may be configured to identifythe transceiver location by the transceiver identification number alone.It will be appreciated that, in embodiments that do not utilizestand-alone transceivers, the transceivers may be configured to transmitat a higher RF power level in order to effectively communicate with thecontrol system site controllers.

[0066] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theinformation transmitted and received by the wireless transceivers of thepresent invention may be further integrated with other data transmissionprotocols for transmission across telecommunications and computernetworks. In addition, it should be further appreciated thattelecommunications and computer networks may function as thetransmission path between the networked wireless transceivers, the sitecontrollers 150, and the applications servers 110.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication device adapted for usewith an automated monitoring system for monitoring and controlling aplurality of remote devices, the automated monitoring system comprisinga site controller in communication with the plurality of remote devicesvia a plurality of transceivers defining a wireless communicationnetwork and in communication with a host computer via a wide areanetwork, the mobile communication device comprising: memory comprising aunique identifier associated with the personal communication device;logic responsive to a transmit command and configured to retrieve theunique identifier from memory and generate a transmit message using apredefined communication protocol being implemented by the wirelesscommunication network, the transmit message comprising the uniqueidentifier and configured such that the transmit message may be receivedby the site controller via the wireless communication network and suchthat the site controller may identify the mobile identification deviceand notify the host computer of the transmit message; and a wirelesstransmitter configured for communication over the wireless communicationnetwork and configured to provide the transmit signal to the wirelesscommunication network.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the logic isstored in memory and the device further comprises a microcontrollerresponsive to the transmit command and configured to implement thelogic.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter isconfigured to provide the transmit signal as a radio frequency signal.4. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transmitter is configuredto provide the transmit signal as a low power radio frequency signal. 5.The device of claim 1, wherein the predefined communication protocolcomprises a data packet comprising: a receiver address identifying thereceiver of the data packet; a sender address identifying the sender ofthe data packet; and a command indicator specifying a predefined commandcode;
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the logic is further configuredto encrypt the transmit signal.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein thetransmit signal comprises an emergency command.
 8. The device of claim1, further comprising a wireless receiver integrated with the wirelesstransmitter and wherein the transmit signal is retransmitted until anacknowledgement command is received from the site controller.
 9. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is integratedwith a handheld computer.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the mobilecommunication device is integrated with a wireless telephone.
 11. Thedevice of claim 5, wherein the data packet further comprises a datapayload and a checksum field for performing a redundancy check.
 12. Thedevice of claim 11, wherein the data packet further comprises: a packetlength indicator which indicates a total number of bytes in the currentpacket; a total packet indicator which indicates the total number ofpackets in the current message; and a current packet indicator whichidentifies the current packet; and a message number identifying thecurrent message.
 13. A mobile communication device adapted for use withan automated monitoring system for monitoring and controlling aplurality of remote devices, the automated monitoring system comprisinga site controller in communication with the plurality of remote devicesvia a plurality of transceivers defining a wireless communicationnetwork and in communication with a host computer via a wide areanetwork, the mobile communication device comprising: a means for storinga unique identifier associated with the mobile communication device; ameans, responsive to a transmit command, for retrieving the uniqueidentifier from memory and for generating a transmit message using apredefined communication protocol being implemented by the wirelesscommunication network, the transmit message comprising the uniqueidentifier and configured such that the transmit message may be receivedby the site controller via the wireless communication network and suchthat the site controller may identify the mobile identification deviceand notify the host computer of the transmit message; and a means forproviding the transmit signal over the wireless communication network.14. The device of claim 13, wherein the means for providing the transmitsignal involves radio frequency communication.
 15. The device of claim13, wherein the means for providing the transmit involves low powerradio frequency communication.
 16. The device of claim 13, wherein thepredefined communication protocol comprises a data packet comprising: areceiver address identifying the receiver of the data packet; a senderaddress identifying the sender of the data packet; and a commandindicator specifying a predefined command code;
 17. The device of claim13, further comprising a means for encrypting the transmit signal. 18.The device of claim 13, wherein the transmit signal comprises a meansfor identifying an emergency.
 19. The device of claim 13, furthercomprising a means for receiving an acknowledgement command from thewireless communication network and wherein the means for providing thetransmit signal retransmits the transmit signal until an acknowledgementcommand is received.
 20. The device of claim 13, wherein the mobilecommunication device is integrated with a handheld computer.
 21. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is integratedwith a wireless telephone.
 22. A method for enabling a mobile user tonotify an automated monitoring system of an emergency situation, theautomated monitoring system configured for monitoring and controlling aplurality of remote devices and comprising a site controller incommunication with the plurality of remote devices via a plurality oftransceivers defining a wireless communication network and incommunication with a host computer via a wide area network, the methodcomprising the steps of: receiving notification that the mobile userdesires to initiate transmission of an emergency message to the sitecontroller; determining the identity of the mobile user; and providingan emergency message over the wireless communication network fordelivery to the site controller, the emergency message indicating theidentity of the mobile user.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising the step of receiving acknowledgement from the sitecontroller over the wireless communication network that the emergencymessage was received.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step ofproviding the emergency message is repeated periodically untilacknowledgement is received.